Battle of Yan Province
The '''Battle of Yan Province '''occurred in 192 AD when the Yellow Turban remnants from Qing Province invaded Yan Province and attempted to assassinate its governor, Liu Dai. The Governor of Dongjun, Cao Cao, was then dispatched to crush the Yellow Turbans in Yan, and he did so with the help of his new bodyguard Dian Wei; he welcomed the 300,000 Yellow Turbans who surrendered to him into his ranks as the Qingzhou Army and became the new ruler of Yan Province, making him a highly powerful northern warlord. Background The Yellow Turban Rebellion of 184 AD nearly destroyed the Han dynasty, but the imperial forces succeeded in quelling the uprising and slaying its leaders, the brothers Zhang Jiao, Zhang Liang, and Zhang Ba. Despite the demise of the Yellow Turbans' spiritual leaders, pockets of Yellow Turban banditry persisted as the Han continued to be engulfed in chaos due to the Alliance against Dong Zhuo and the anarchy of the 190s AD. In 192 AD, a resurgence of the Yellow Turbans occurred in Qing Province, with hundreds of thousands of peasants flocking to the Yellow Turban banner and plundering any place they reached. They then invaded Yan Province with the goal of assassinating the governor, so Court Administrator Zhu Jun convinced Han regent Li Jue to send for Cao Cao, Governor of Dongjun, to crush the uprising. Battle Cao Cao marched with Lord of Jibei Bao Xin to Qing Province to defeat the Yellow Turbans there. Bao Xin was killed while attacking the rebels at Shouyang, where their leaders He Yi, Huang Shao, and He Man had set up their base. Cao Cao's cousin and general Xiahou Dun recruited local warrior Dian Wei as Cao Cao's bodyguard during the campaign, and Dian Wei accompanied Cao Cao as he attempted to attract the Yellow Turbans' attention. Sima Ju and Gong Du ambushed Cao Cao, but Dian Wei was able to slay them and protect his lord. Sure enough, the Yellow Turbans began to advance towards Cao Cao in the hills, allowing for Xiahou Dun's force to move unhindered through a valley to attack the Yellow Turbans' main camp in the northwest. Dian Wei distinguished himself by slaying hundreds of Yellow Turbans, impressing Cao Cao and terrifying the Yellow Turbans. Cao Cao's army soon defeated all of the Yellow Turban officers, but Cao Cao was then alerted that a giant was wreaking havoc in the village. Dian Wei investigated, and he found that Xu Chu was fighting to protect his crops from being trampled. Dian Wei managed to defeat Xu Chu after a short battle, and Xu Chu was persuaded to serve as another one of Cao Cao's bodyguards. Cao Cao pursued the rebels as they fled to Jibei, capturing 10,000 of them. After 100 days, he had won over 300,000 troops (the Qingzhou Army) and 1,000,000 ordinary folks, and Cao Cao was promoted to General Who Guards the East and ruler of Yan Province. He gave much of Yan Province's deserted farmlands to the Qingzhou Army troops for farming, and he became a powerful and popular warlord. Category:Battles Category:Three Kingdoms